Kashminder Singh

Just as serious questions are being asked about the performance of 3G networks, a saviour may be at hand. HSDPA, a technology sorely in need of a more marketable name, looks likely to make an early appearance this year and give 3G technology the boost of speed that may allow it to take off.

3G was conceived as a wireless broadband service but early adopters quickly learnt that theoretical high speeds did not translate into blazing performances. Other than video calls, it was pretty obvious that the actual performance put 3G only slightly ahead of EDGE services and nowhere near fixed broadband speeds. Little wonder that 3G take-up has been slow.

HSDPA, which stands for High Speed Downlink Packet Access promises to address the current bottleneck in network speeds and its roadmap going forward point towards unimaginably fast future mobile networks. The potentialities of HSDPA are so encouraging that it looks capable of giving another promising upcoming wireless technology WIMAX a tough fight.

HSDPA has arrived at centre stage without the usual hype and fanfare associated with breakthrough technologies. The reason behind its low profile entrance is also the same reason why it’s likely to make a big impact. HSDPA is not a hardware upgrade to 3G networks. HSDPA is a straightforward software upgrade. It speeds up 3G networks by creating special channels for data being sent down to the user, hence the name downlink. Users get a boost in speed because webpages and e-mails are sent faster down to them through these channels.

Recently I was invited to a HSDPA briefing by Ericsson where I saw firsthand the increased speeds created by HSDPA. At the demonstration in Cyberjaya, Ericsson took this reporter around in a van equipped with HSDPA-enabled PCs. True enough, data downloads was significantly faster than my experience with regular 3G. Web pages came down faster and data was downloaded up to 10 times faster than current 3G rates.

While HSDPA will not need new hardware on the network side, users will need HSDPA-enabled handsets. Current 3G sets won’t be able to take advantage of faster HSDPA speeds. Thankfully, manufacturers seemed to have timed their productions plans well.

The first HSDPA PC cards and handsets are beginning to appear. The Global Mobile Suppliers Association recently announced that there are now 14 products that support HSDPA.

During the recent CES electronic show in Las Vegas, LG exhibited the CU-320, a HSDPA-capable 3G handset. Samsung has also announced their HSDPA phone, the fastest around to date, the ZX20. Notebook manufacturers are joining the HSDPA movement too. Lenovo has already announced that some upcoming models of ThinkPad notebooks will be HSDPA-capable. Palm is also believed to be preparing a HSDPA version of the Treo 700W Smartphone. Other manufacturers cannot be that far behind. It’s safe to say that HSDPA handsets and PC cards will be available when HSDPA makes an appearance in our part of the world.

There’s even more exciting news for consumers – and worrying news for Wimax proponents. By early 2007, plans are for an uplink upgrade to be done to 3G networks. This will increase data speeds being sent upwards from handsets to networks. Over the next few years, the WCDMA roadmap for 3G networks and beyond plans to offer increased speeds far in excess of even current fastest commercially available broadband speeds. The only catch is that each upgrade will probably also require new handsets.

Other than that, HSDPA certainly looks capable of breathing new life into disappointing 3G networks. The wireless developers have certainly done a great job in coming up with this faster version of 3G. Now if only they can come up with a sexier name for HSDPA, it will be easier for us journalists to spread the word.